


Other Halves

by RainbowArches



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Deaf Character, I Believe in Jasper Sitwell, Intersex Character, Multi, Save Vitoria Hand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 01:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2563385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowArches/pseuds/RainbowArches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The partners and home lives of agents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Other Halves

There was a wall length mirror above the T.V. to let Isla know who was coming through the door. So far it had only ever been Felix, like it should be, or a friend she knew to expect, but Felix was a very cautious man. If she couldn’t hear intruders, he wanted to be sure she could see them. She insisted that if intruders were as good as they should be, it wouldn’t matter if she could see or hear or not. But he put the mirror there anyway. And enrolled her in self defense classes.  
She almost didn’t catch the flicker of movement. That was another problem; she got so engrossed in her reading or her shows that she’d probably forget the mirror was even there. She looked up Felix’s reflection waving at her. She smiled at him, marked her page and set the book aside. She followed him to the kitchen and sat at the counter while he poured them each a glass of wine.  
 _How was your day?_ She signed.  
 _Long. I’ve been doing everyone else’s admin and it all has to be done yesterday. We lose one agent and everything goes to hell._  
She kissed his hand and pressed it to her cheek sympathetically. He was often like this when he came home. He’d complain briefly, they’d sit and enjoy their wine for a while, then he’d ask about her day. He signed effortlessly. She could still remember his first clumsy attempts thirty years ago, when he’d tried to flirt with her. He’d only made her laugh but he considered it a win.  
 _What did you do today?_  
 _I went job-hunting._  
 _Is retirement boring you already?_  
 _I’m the only person I know who’s retired. Doesn’t give me much to do._  
He smiled. He was an easy person to make smile, at least for her, which was good because it took years off him. He always told her she had a beautiful laugh. She couldn’t hear his laugh, but she could see it. His laugh was beautiful too.

The laundry was never done. At least Alex happy and occupied on the carpet. Jacoba folded up endless pairs of pajamas- helicopters, ballerinas, trains, sunflowers. She felt a twinge of guilt, dealing with Alex’s clothes. Even baby clothes were hard to find gender neutral. They kept buying more and more, in as wide a variety as they could manage, to compensate for having to choose. The doctors said they had to choose- boy or girl? They put it off as long as they could. In the end they flipped a coin, because they had no idea how to decide that for their child. Heads- boy. Tails- girl. Alex was a girl. At least for now, until she said otherwise, if she said otherwise. She was only one, as Jasper kept reminding her. She didn’t have to stress about decisions that weren’t hers. Except it was her decision, whether she wanted it or not. The doctors had made it her decision.  
Alex squealed and grinned when Jasper came home. Jacoba loved that sound. Alex was always so happy to see her dad. And that meant Jasper always greeted them with a grin of his own, kissing them each on the temple. He picked Alex up and blew raspberries into her stomach, making her laugh. He kept doing it until Jacoba was laughing too.  
Jasper sat next to her on the couch, Alex in his lap, and helped her with the laundry. Jacoba reached out and pressed Alex’s nose, making faces at her until she started giggling again. This was all she and Jasper wanted; a happy baby they could make laugh.

Carole couldn’t sleep, not until she knew. It was already getting colder and she missed her parents. She didn’t want hot chocolate and snow men at Christmas, she wanted palm trees and the beach. She wanted to sit on her mom and dad’s porch in shorts and a tank-top and a cold beer. She liked the sun. So did Victoria. Victoria probably hated snow more than she did, but they hadn’t been able to get to the Philippines the last few years. This year would probably work, though. Fingers crossed. Victoria had been very careful not to get her hopes up. Not that it mattered. Carole took it for granted every year that she’d go to her parents place for the winter holidays, even though that rarely happened with Victoria’s schedule. She could go herself, but she’d feel terrible, leaving Victoria to suffer idiots and ice by herself.  
Victoria crawled into bed at midnight, spooning her from behind. Carole turned in her arms so she could bury her face in her neck. She didn’t ask. Victoria didn’t say anything for a long time, perfectly stoic. Carole didn’t want to ask but she was getting impatient not knowing. Did Victoria forget about finding out? Could they not go? Was she teasing? Carole hated teasing. Eventually she felt the smile spreading on Victoria’s face. Carole looked up questioningly.  
“We can go.”

Hera had been keeping supper warm in the oven, but she wanted to go to bed and Nick still wasn’t home, so she turned the oven off. And then Nick came in. Hera rolled her eyes. She was sure he did that sort of thing deliberately. Nick moved sluggishly over to her, absently kissing her hair.  
“That kind of day?”  
He shrugged.  
“Sit.”  
He sat at the table and she fixed a plate for him.  
“I’m going to bed, okay? Want me to wait up for you?”  
He shrugged. That kind of day. Usually he came home with plenty of energy to spare, but sometimes he was like a zombie. She went to bed with a book and a flashlight, because she knew he preferred her to be awake when he joined her. She didn’t mind; he wouldn’t keep her waiting.  
About ten minutes later he crawled into bed. She set the book aside so that he could lay his head on her chest and she could wrap her arms around him. She knew what his job was, what he did every day. She made sure that when he was at home he wasn’t wearing the boss coat. It became her coat. She was the protector here, and they both liked it that way.


End file.
